"To be honest, I was trying to hold it for 20 years" - Michael Phelps opens up on Leon Marchand breaking his 400m IM world record

Retired swimmer Michael Phelps recently expressed his view on Leon Marchand smashing his last world record in the 400 IM race. The 39-year-old grabbed eyeballs in the 2008 Beijing Olympics by clocking 4:03.84. It was broken by Marchand at the World Aquatics Championships 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan.

Legendary swimmer Michael Phelps boasts 28 Olympic medals including 23 gold medals which is the highest ever won by an athlete. He also managed to collect three silver and two bronze medals throughout the four Olympic Games that he competed in.

In his two-decades-long career, the American swimmer set a total of 39 world records. To date, only three of Phelps’ world records remain unbeaten - 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay and 4x200m freestyle relay.

Last year, French swimmer Leon Marchand took down Phelps’ last individual record in the 4x100 Individual Medley. The 22-year-old swam an impressive 4 minutes 2.50 seconds, overpowering the Flying Fish’s 4 minutes 3.84 seconds. Marchand was under the tutelage of Bob Bowman, Phelps’ career-long coach.

Recently, both Omega ambassadors, Michael Phelps and Leon Marchand appeared in a Forbes interview to talk about their performances and breaking records.

When asked how he felt about Leon Marchand dethroning his 400m IM record, the legendary swimmer expressed:

“To be honest, I was trying to hold it for 20 years. So I got there. I can say I hold the longest-standing swimming World Record. That’s something really cool. But in Léon’s race, as soon as he turned with 100 to go, and he was a body length ahead of the record, I knew he wasn’t going to fade. As I said before, I knew it was going to get broken. I just didn't know when.”

This world record of Michael Phelps was his first gold medal-winning performance out of the eight he won at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

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Michael Phelps believes he can still pull off 200m IM in the Olympics

Michael Phelps at 2023 US Open - Day 10 - Source: Getty

Former swimmer Michael Phelps bid goodbye to his sport after competing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics 2016. He ended his swimming career with five Olympic gold medals and one silver from that edition. Since then, Phelps has turned down rumors of his comeback at the Olympics.

Despite his absence at the upcoming Paris Olympics, Phelps believes that he could still swim faster than most swimmers today.

During an interview with Pat McAfee, the American swimmer stated that he could pull off a fifth gold medal in the 200m IM. He told:

“I think it would take four years to do — I think I could win the 200 IM,” Phelps told McAfee. "I was going faster eight years ago than most of the world is going now."

He revealed that he initially had this discussion with his son, Maverick. The little one asked Phelps if he could compete with today’s swimmers. Although Phelps responded affirmatively, he explained that competing at the Olympics would mean staying away from his family in order to train.